About 55 to 60 international students arriving at Lambton College from Nigeria are being screened for the deadly Ebola virus as the African country contends with an outbreak.

The day they arrive, students are seen by a registered nurse at the college, are being asked questions and having their temperature taken, said Rob Kardas, executive director of student services.

Twice more they're checked before the end of the 21-day incubation period, and are asked to take their own temperatures twice daily in the interim.

If symptoms are detected, the student is taken to Bluewater Health where healthcare workers will take over infection control, Kardas said.

“We do think the risk is very low here,” he said, noting the screening process was developed in concert with Lambton Public Health and Bluewater Health.

“Citizenship and Immigration Canada are continuing to issue study permits for the students that are arriving,” he said. “And we take our lead from public health, (and the) World Health Organization.”

About 20 cases of Ebola have turned up in Nigeria, a country of more than 160 million people, Kardas said.

Meanwhile hundreds have died in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since the outbreak began. There's also a separate, unrelated outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that's killed dozens of people.

“I would say it's very low,” Kardas said about the chances of Ebola turning up in Sarnia.

“Despite the odds being very much against that, we needed to be prepared,” he said.

College officials have been stepping up cleaning efforts on campus, and installed more hand sanitation stations, he said.

About 3,500 students are expected this September, along with 400 to 500 international students, he said. Overall, it's an enrolment increase of about 1%.

The Ebola virus, deadly in more than half of human cases, is not airborne but spread through bodily fluids.

Already more than 30 Nigerian students have arrived in Sarnia and the rest are expected soon, Kardas said.

“Some have already been released out of the screening process because they may have come to Canada early,” he said.

Students and faculty with the college's Enactus Lambton program meanwhile travelled to Zambia in August to continue their work there that includes helping develop sustainable farming methods, he said.

There have been no cases of Ebola in Zambia.

“That trip went on as scheduled and they made great progress and are back safe and sound,” Kardas said.